Galbraith: The Position of Poverty

In the reading The Position of Poverty by John Kenneth Galbraith, he talks about 2 types of poverty. One of which is called “case poverty” and the other which is called “insular poverty”.

Galbraith defines case poverty as “case poverty is the poor farm family with the junk-filled yard and the dirty children playing in the bare dirt. Or it is the gray-black hovel beside the railroad tracks. Or it is the basement dwelling in the alley.” (Galbraith 407). In other words it think he is saying that case poverty is the type of poverty you would see anywhere you go, down the street, next door, around the corner, etc..

Galbraith explains insular poverty as “that which manifest itself as an “island” of poverty. In the island, everyone or nearly everyone is poor.” (Galbraith 407). At first reading this I was confused by his meaning of an “island”, but reading on I think he means instead of just here and there poverty, as considered case poverty, he means a whole community of people suffering from poverty. According to Galbraith the “most modern poverty is insular in character and the islands are the rural and urban slums.” (Galbraith 408).

Galbraith says “the most certain thing about poverty is that it is not remedied by a general advance in income. Case poverty is not remedied because the specific individual inadequacy precludes employment and participation in the general advance. Insular poverty is not directly alleviated because the advance does not remove the specific frustrations of environment to which the people of these areas are subject.” (Galbraith 409). I took this as Galbraith saying case poverty is not easy to get rid of because a person is not always willing to move ahead and insular poverty is not an individuals fault it is more the environments fault.



Works Cited

Galbraith, John Kenneth. “The Position of Poverty.” A World of Ideas: Essential Reading for College Writers. Lee A. Jacobs. 7th ed. New York; Bedford St. Martins, 2006. pp 406-413.